Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting SESSION III: HRHF Statement
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For many countries in the OSCE region we remain in the crisis stage without any realistic expectation that we are on – or will be on soon – a road to recovery.
Therefore, it’s important to review the environment in which independent media operates.
Despite what an uninformed observer of these proceedings might infer, there is little to no independent journalist left in Azerbaijan. Independent Azerbaijani journalists are either in jail, in exile, or worse still, dead. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, nearly two dozen journalists are currently in jail in Azerbaijan. Indeed, last year, Azerbaijan was ranked as one of the world’s top 10 jailers of journalists.
At last year’s first SHDM, Azerbaijani HRD, Anar Mammadli, joined the proceedings to highlight the significantly deteriorating human rights situation in Azerbaijan. He was detained weeks later and has remained in pre-trial detention on trumped up charges ever since. We call for his release.
In Georgia, we have seen a dizzying increase in violent attacks against independent journalists as they seek to cover the protests which erupted in November and have taken place every day since in response to highly contested elections and decisions by the authorities concerning EU accession. Georgian NGOs and human rights defenders report total impunity for those responsible for such attacks and a lack of any real investigations by the authorities.
At the same time, the Georgian authorities are actively aiding the Azerbaijani authorities in utilising transnational repression against independent journalists. Afgan Sadigov, Azerbaijani journalist and editor-in-chief of the independent outlet Azel TV, has long faced politically motivated persecution for his reporting on corruption and social injustices in Azerbaijan. After fleeing Azerbaijan in December 2023 to escape harassment, Sadigov sought refuge in Georgia with his wife and 2 young daughters. However, he was arrested by the Georgian authorities in August 2024 on an extradition warrant issued by Azerbaijan and has been held in detention since, despite an order by the European Court of Human Rights earlier this month banning his extradition. The RFoM has repeatedly raised concerns about his case. We call for his release and urge the Georgian authorities to ensure his protection and provide him with safe haven.
I would also like to draw States’ attention to the case of Belarusian journalist Andrey Aleksandrau. Andrey was detained in January 2021 on trumped up charges of violating public order and subsequently sentenced to 15 years in prison. Andrey is one of 40 journalists currently in prison in Belarus.
In Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska, the authorities recently adopted new legislation to establish a “special registry” of NGOs, many of which are independent media organisations. The law is widely seen as retaliation against government critics. On the same day that the law was adopted, the authorities raided the media outlet Capital.ba, citing recent anti-civil society statements by the US government authorities which falsely claimed fraud and abuse in the NGO sector. Indeed, US government anti-NGO rhetoric is being weaponised across the OSCE region to expand and deepen attacks against independent civil society, including media organisations.
Madame Moderator, in light of these examples, I’d like to ask the panellists the following questions:
- How can media freedom survive when the legislative and policy landscape, not to mention anti-civil society rhetoric and outright attacks, obstruct independent media and any objective reporting within a country?
- What recommendations do you have for the authorities cited to reverse their attack on independent media and journalists?
Top photo by Suzy Hazelwood via Pexels.
